-x- ƒσσтѕтєρѕ ƒαdιηg
by Gravity-Chan
Summary: Fade is your run-of-the-mill rogue kitten. However, when a series of unfortunate disasters causes Fade to be separated from her family, she must learn how to survive on her own. What's more, a long-time enemy of Fade's father, thought to be dead, returns, and Fade wants revenge. And the only way to do that is to track down the cat responsible...


A gentle breeze stirred the green-brown grasses on the quiet moor, granting relief to the otherwise quiet night. A full moon shone brightly above, outlining the silhouettes of the only two creatures awake at this hour of the night. Two cats, a tom and she-cat, pushed their way up a particularly steep hill near the edge of the vast moorland, keeping close to the ground to avoid any unwanted attention.

When the twosome finally reached the peak of the hill, the she-cat, whose dark gray coat blended in with the darkness of the night, collapsed to the ground, panting. Her belly was swollen with unborn kits, and the exertion was nearly too much for her in her fragile state. **"Skye, can we please rest for a moment?"** she panted to the other cat, his bright ginger fur shining.

Skye looked hesitant. **"Dawn, you know what will happen if they catch us,"** Skye responded nervously, and nosed his mate to her paws.

Dawn reluctantly heaved herself to her feet again, grunting with the effort. **"The kits will be born any day now, Skye. We need to find somewhere to settle down where they won't find us."**

**"I know, but we won't get anywhere if we don't move!"** Skye argued stubbornly, nudging Dawn forward. Still, he slowed his pace a bit going down the side of the hill to allow his mate some sort of rest from their climb. He angled his ears backward to listen for trouble, but the moor seemed more quiet then ever. He noticed that the breeze had stopped, and not a sound could be heard but the faint chirping of crickets. Skye let out a breath of relief. _So far, so good,_ he thought.

No sooner had these thoughts occurred than Faded Dawn let out a moan of pain and slumped forward, her legs shaking. Skye rushed over to his mate, pressing close to her. His eyes were full of worry and dread. **"It's the kits, isn't it?"** he meowed nervously with a backward glance. Merely habit but still meaningful to him.

Dawn gave a feeble nod in response, her breaths coming out shaky and labored. She leaned against Skye for support and glanced around quickly, spotting a large bramble bush that looked as if it had once been a nest of some sort. The inside had been hollowed out and the dead branches lay scattered about, brown and dead. **"Over there,"** she meowed quietly with a weak gesture to the bush. Skye nodded and helped the laboring queen to the makeshift den, piling the dead leaves and bracken inside around her as a makeshift nest for the kits to be born in.

Dawn winced and gritted her teeth as another contraction swept through her, and she glanced at Skye. **"Water,"** she meowed feebly.

Skye nodded and disappeared from the den, scenting the air briefly before trotting through the forest. _Where am I going to find water? It hasn't rained in days!_ he thought to himself, but continued on anyway, scenting the air occasionally in search of some sort of water-scent. At last he picked it up; the faint scent of fresh water. Eagerly he ran towards it and spotted a small, unsubstantial pond. It was too small to have too much life in it; it was devoid of fish and frogs, but it worked for what he needed. Stripping a ball of moss from a nearby oak tree, he tenderly dipped the moss into the water, cleaning it is the grit and bark stuck to it and soaking it in fresh water.

Skye turned and began heading back to the den, using his scent trail to do so, and by the time he returned to the nest, the only sounds that could be heard were the mewling of newborn kits.

Dawn glanced up at her mate as he entered with a warm smile. She looked worn and exhausted, and her fur looked duller than it had been that morning, but she seemed healthy enough, and so did the two kits squirming at her belly. Skye held out the dripping moss to Dawn, who accepted it gratefully. **"Thank you,"** she meowed softly as she lapped at the soaked moss. Her voice was hoarse and scratchy.

Skye bent over to examine the two little kits at his mate's belly. they were both she-cats, one smoky gray with stripes like her mother, the other tiny, the runt, and snowy white with long, fluffy fur and faint gray flecks on her back and tail. **"Oh, Dawn, they're beautiful..."** he murmured, nuzzling his mate affectionately.

**"What should we name them?"** Dawn asked, licking the tiny white she-cat on the head. **"I like Opalescence for the little one here. We can call her Opal."** the little she-cat squeaked and wriggled around as if in response to her name, causing Skye to chuckle.

Skye thought for a moment, closely examining the larger of the two. **"She looks just like you,"** he commented to her mate, who giggled in response. After another minute, Skye meowed, **"I'd like to call her Fade. Our little Fade, just like my Faded Dawn."** he brushed against Dawn lovingly, and she rested her head against Skye's shoulder. **"Fade..."** Dawn echoed. **"That's a wonderful name."**


End file.
